Month: April 2006

I thought I had come across a new Hong Kong based airsoft company, only to recently find out that War4 have been around for a while.

War4 is a reliable Hong Kong based airsoft retailer. Great service, fast turnaround. If they ever have a backordered item they are prompt in refunding to your paypal account if that's what you ask for.

Their websites functionaly and organization is a bit dated, but once you find the items you need it's easy to check out.

They are pretty strict with trademark removal on anything they ship to the US. They will not/advise against using temporary putty.

The also have members only discounts which they grant you acess to after a few orders.

This is a gas, bolt action rifle and comes out of the box with very high fps. But unlike my Gen 1 M700 Police, the AICS come with the Power Control System (PCS) bolt. You can dial the system down in fps if you so desire. I'll post more later about the PS system. Performance is on par with teh other Tanaka M700. Bolt cycling is smooth and easy. Hopup is a very easy adjustment as with all Tanaka M700. The larger capacity magazine is a plus too! (That was my biggest gripe about the M700P)

Tanaka M700 AICS

The appearance of this replica is awesome! I will be taking the AICS to a local large caliber gun store called ARM USA for side by side comarisons to a real AICS. The OD stock with black furniture gives the AICS a very mil/aggro look. There are no iron sights, so optics are needed.

Since I have another Accuracy Internationl replica, the Maruzen Type 96, modeled after the AI L96, I thought a comparison would be in order since more people have probably seen the Type 96:

Maruzen Type 96 (Black) – Tanaka M700 AICS (Green)

For those of us hoping that the AICS can use some of the Type 96's bolt on accessories. Below is what I can confirm.

Camotech did an excellent job on 2 seperate orders I placed with them. they are a small shop out of Texas. Theire customer communication is great, but I had to score them lower under customer service for some long lead times in getting orders produced. But they stated this upfront, so I wasn't in a situation where I was evey in limbo. My last order was placed the end of Dec05 and was recieved Mar06.

The wait is definetly worth it though. Camotech's quality is topnotch. Camotech's other business is camo painting rifle stock. They've come up with som every nice patterns.

The exercise is the first step in accelerating the delivery of key FCS capabilities to current-force Soldiers, and part of the most comprehensive Army modernization effort in more than half a century.

A platoon of 36 Soldiers tested such FCS technology as Urban and Tactical Unattended Ground Sensors and unmanned vehicles designed to clear roads and buildings, as well as detect persons and objects that may enter a building occupied by Soldiers. Robotics and unmanned vehicles help clear buildings without sending actual Soldiers inside.

“With the Future Force Warrior Individual Ground System, every Soldier knows where their fellow Soldier is, even if they’re not next to them,” said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Haddad, Future Combat Systems, Evaluation Brigade Combat Team. Another advantage of the FFWIGS is the ability of the platoon leader and the platoon sergeant to locate all their Soldiers on their screen and communicate with them by radio.

“Soldiers won’t have to wait for someone to send them the information. Every Soldier will have the ability to listen to real-time information on the radio so he can anticipate the next move. He stays informed, that means he stays alert.” Haddad said.

The unattended ground sensors are part of the first FCS spin-out to begin in 2008. Spin-Out 1 also includes an early version of the FCS Network and the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System, also tested yesterday. The NLOS-LS gives the Army a highly deployable, long-range precision attack capability with a much-reduced logistical footprint for faster and more sustainable deployments.

“The new technology we have is going to save a lot of lives,” said Sgt. 1st Class Andres Rugerio, FCS, EBCT. “That’s the thing we’re impressed about.”

Experiment 1.1 had three phases. Phase 1 involved hardware and software integration and networking and systems interoperability testing in a laboratory environment at Huntington Beach, Calif. Phase 2 involved interoperability testing of various FCS systems in a more realistic, joint operational environment with more than a dozen Soldiers at Fort Bliss.

“The future is now,” FCS Program Manager Maj. Gen. Charles Cartwright said yesterday. “Networked Soldiers already are using early FCS systems; and we’re getting invaluable Soldier feedback about what works and what needs improving. Today’s exercise is further confirmation that the FCS program is working as planned.”

Yesterday’s live-fire exercise will help ensure that the new technologies tested are sufficiently mature and suitable for the current operational environment. Results of the exercise and the Soldiers’ feedback will inform subsequent program development, according to Cartwright.

The FCS program has delivered more than five million lines of software code and several pre-production prototype systems on cost and on schedule.

(Maj. Deanna Bague from the Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office contributed to this story.)

Soldiers from the Future Combat Systems, Evaluation Brigade Combat Team, employ an unmanned vehicle to clear a road during an exercise and live demonstration Feb. 1 at Oro Grande Range, Fort Bliss, Texas.

The Future Combat Systems Class I unmanned aerial vehicle can be carried in a backpack and provides dismounted soldiers with new capabilities in reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capability on the battlefield.

Soldiers participating in a Future Combat Systems Experiment 1.1 mock combat exercise use the small unmanned ground vehicle to clear a building. The portable, robotic vehicles can be used for high-risk activities such as surveillance in buildings, tunnels and caves, or detecting explosive devices, without exposing Soldiers directly to the hazards.

I was never 100% satisfied with the CA M249 Box Mag. Mostly because of size and it was hard to shoulder fire/aim with box mag in place. I decided to try the MAG M249 2500 Rounds Cartridge Pouch mostly due to size, and the fact it has a remote switch.

Mag Features:

Electric Winding

Side zip.

2500 Rds Capacity

100 Rds Style Compact size

Remote Switch

for TOP and CA M249 Series

MAG M249 2500 Rounds Cartridge Pouch on CA249P

I picked this up from War4 Airsoft and with their typipcal great customer service I had the prodcut in 3 days. This mag is very well built and all feeding components on the mag are black so they disappear when the dummy bullets are added.

Unzip the pouch to access bb door and 9 bolt battery

This unit has a very long internal feed tude so make sure you load a few hundred rounds to prime the mag. Becaue of the "pouch" unlike other box mags the bb's are muffeled when rattled around. No more boxmag maracas! The mag motor has a low droning sound when activited. I setup the remote switch right below the safety so I can thumb activate teh mag motor.

This is a great alternative to the CA M249 Box Mag System. it's smaller but rated to carry more bb's. The attachement point on the MAG holds one of the dummy rounds by pressure so it keeps the whole belt tight. Less chance of the belt flying off like in the case of the CA's dummy round "loop"

I'm always impressed at the things Rich at Magpul comes up with. These Ranger Plates are just another good idea. And Magpul doesn't try and "Stick It" to you as a consumer. Their prices are fair for the quality and ingenuity behind the items that are available

Ranger Plate 3 pack Installed

These are replacement floor plates for Real M16 style or Tokyo Marui Low Capacity Mags. The act like the original Magpul, but will fit into standard magazine pouches. The handle/tabs make then easy to extract from a pouch system and help you juggle 2 mags with 1 hand.

Ranger Plate on an M4-S

Installation was simple. Just replace the old magazine floor plate. For real m16 mags they come with a locking follower, but for airsoft mags, just bend the metal on the Ranger Plate to lock in place.

These also add protection to the bottom of the magazine if dropped, but I've yet to drop any.

Update 03/2007

Just scored the Airsoft version of the Ranger Plates in Flat Dark Earth color. These are different from the real steel Ranger Plates in that they can work on high cap magazines with the bb winder dials on the bottom of the magazine.

One or the things I didn't like about my CA249P, is when you have the box mag attached, your fore grip feels awkward when you shoulder the weapon to aim. I thought an R.I.S. and vertical foregrip would be a perfect solution, but the M249 style bipod would have no place to go.

I then saw a product called the Grip-Pod and they used it on an M249 for just the same reason I was looking for! Downside is the Grip-Pod's are a bit pricey (About $150.00 and most places are on backorder.

Proud Tactical Grip/Bipod "Kachak" Extended

Leave it up to Hong Kong to come up with an airsoft version of this product, produced by "SOTech Vest knockoff" manufacturer Proud. This unit ids built out of a nylon reinforced plastic. which feels very sturdy. The bipod legs are spring loaded and with a push of a large button, the bipod legs deploy very fast with a satisfying "Kachak" sound.

Installed on CA249, Legs Retracted

This vertical grip is wider in diameter and longer then your usual vertical grip. With this installed on the CA249P it is very comfortable to shoulder aim even with the large box mag installed. Very easy to go from hip to shoulder fire and back. A simple push of the large button on the grip, "Kachak" bipod extended. To put legs back, simply squeeze together and push up into grip body until it locks in place.